Aspects of retirement could be impacted by divorce

| Jul 25, 2019 | Family Law, Firm News |

Retirement is a dream of many that takes years of work and dedication to reach. Oftentimes, married people work together to create a nest egg for retirement. Questions often arise regarding how retirement will be affected when a married couple decides to divorce. Keep in mind that asset division is meant to be fair and equitable and this division includes retirement assets.

However, as most people know, taking money from a retirement account isn’t typically ideal, as the whole point of these accounts is for the money to stay there and appreciate until a person is ready to retire. Because divorce rates for those over fifty have doubled since 1990, more questions pertaining to retirement and divorce are becoming relevant. Beyond retirement accounts like 401(k) and IRA, there are often questions about Social Security and even investments like the family home.

What will impact a high asset divorce decision the most will be the specifics surrounding the couple who is getting a divorce. Each spouse will have goals or topics of concern. Even so, there can be creative ways to split retirement accounts, property investments and even find a solution to account for Social Security. Understanding what factors will impact the financial portions of asset division will be key to finding the best resolution.

Family law was created, in part, to ensure that property division is fair and equitable to both parties. However, this doesn’t mean complete equality of the assets divided. Other factors can determine fairness and equality when it comes to divorce and asset division.